The present invention relates generally to an environmentally protected bussed electrical center, and further to a method of fabricating same.
A bussed electrical center (hereinafter referred to simply as a xe2x80x9cBECxe2x80x9d) is a stand-alone central junction block assembly which has gained increasing applications in the automotive arts as motor vehicles become ever more electronically sophisticated. A BEC packages, for example, various fuses, relays and electronic devices in a single central location. A BEC not only saves cost by consolidating electrical interconnections, it also advantageously reduces the number of cut and spliced leads, thereby increasing reliability. An example of a BEC construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,135, to Brussalis et al, dated Feb. 3, 1998.
What remains needed in the art is a BEC in which connections and seams are environmentally sealed.
The present invention is an environmentally protected (sealed) BEC at the housing seam and at each of the connector receptacles.
The lower housing is formed conventionally, as for example by plastic injection molding of a plastic lower housing body, and may carry a printed circuit board (PCB), a spacer plate and an electrical assemblage including upstanding blade terminals.
The upper housing is formed according to the method of the present invention, in two shots. Firstly, an upper housing body is formed by a plastic injection molding process using a first upper mold member mated to a lower mold member. Next, the first upper mold member is removed, and a second upper mold member is mated to the lower mold member. A liquid injection molding process now injects liquid resilient seal material, preferably silicone, over exposed surfaces of the upper housing body, including the upper housing seam and each connector interface. The liquid then solidifies adheringly to the exposed surfaces of the upper housing body so as to provide a resilient seal thereat.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an environmentally protected BEC via a method which includes a two shot injection process.
This, and additional objects, advantages, features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification.